Connector and infusion set

ABSTRACT

A connector includes an elastic valve body that includes a top face on which a slit is formed and a bottom face opposite the top face; and a holding section that is in contact with the top face and the bottom face of the elastic valve body and holds the elastic valve body. The holding section surrounds the slit, and the elastic valve body includes a peripheral section that is positioned outward of a portion of the elastic valve body that is held by the holding section. The elastic valve body and the holding section are configured such that a volume of the peripheral section in a state in which the elastic valve body is held by the holding section is larger than a volume of the peripheral section in a state in which the elastic valve body is not held by the holding section.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/277,686, filed on Sep. 27, 2016, which is a bypasscontinuation of PCT Application No. PCT/JP2015/000476, filed on Feb. 3,2015, which claims priority to Japanese Application No. 2014-067721,filed on Mar. 28, 2014. The disclosures of these applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a connector and an infusion set, andparticularly to a connector that is capable of connecting thereto a maleconnector such as various medical devices and an infusion set providedwith the connector.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, when infusion, blood transfusion, or artificial dialysisis performed, liquid is fed into the body using a medical tube. Whenanother liquid such as a liquid medicine is joined to the liquid insidethe tube, a connector that is capable of liquid-tightly connecting amale connector such as a syringe and a luer taper member to the medicaltube is used. A male connector such as a syringe and a luer taper membermay be called a male luer, and a connector connected to the male luermay be called a female luer.

Such a connector capable of connecting a male connector is disclosed,for example, in JP 2010-148757 A. A medical connector disclosed in JP2010-148757 A is provided with a mixed injection port which causes anengaging projection of an annular ring and an engaging projection partof a cylindrical port to enter annular grooves provided, respectively,on an outer surface and an inner surface of a valve member so as tosupport the valve member in a sandwich state, in which an annular fixingsection of the valve member is held and assembled by the annular ringand the cylindrical port.

SUMMARY

The mixed injection port of JP 2010-148757 A is provided with an annularfitting concave groove, which extends over the entire periphery of aninner peripheral face of a small diameter cylinder portion of thecylindrical port in the circumferential direction, and the annularfixing section of the valve member abuts on the entire inner surface ofthe fitting concave groove in an intimate-contact state so as to preventformation of a gap in the fitting concave groove.

A depth dimension of the fitting concave groove is a projecting heightdimension of the above-described engaging projection part, and is set tobe equal to or slightly larger than a depth dimension of the annulargroove of the valve member. In addition, a groove width dimension of thefitting concave groove in a radial direction is set to be equal to orslightly smaller than a width dimension of a part projecting toward theinner surface than a constricted-shaped part of the annular fixingsection of the valve member. Apart of the annular fixing section of thevalve member on the outer surface side, and the engaging projection ofthe annular ring have the similar dimensional relationship.

That is, a space, which is defined by the cylindrical port and theannular ring and configured to house the annular fixing section of thevalve member, has a sectional shape which matches with a sectional shapeof the annular fixing section in the single valve member that is notassembled in the mixed injection port, or a sectional shape that preventthe annular fixing section from being housed unless holding andcompressing the annular fixing section in the thickness direction andthe radial direction in JP 2010-148757 A.

However, the connector provided with the mixed injection port of JP2010-148757 A has a problem that a part of the valve member is pushedinward in the radial direction from a part compressed by the engagingprojection of the annular ring and the engaging projection part of thecylindrical port when the valve member as an elastic valve body is heldand compressed, and a central section of the valve member becomes slack.

When opening and closing operations of the elastic valve body arerepeatedly performed by insertion and removal of the male connector inthe slack state of the central section of the elastic valve body, theelastic valve body is moved from an originally fixed position, and thereis a risk that it is hard to restore the original position even afterremoving the male connector.

In view of the above problem, an object of certain embodiments of thepresent invention is to provide a connector and an infusion set capableof suppressing generation of slack in a central section of an elasticvalve body.

In a first embodiment, a connector includes: an elastic valve body whichincludes a top face on which a slit is formed and a bottom face on anopposite side of the top face; and a holding section which is in contactwith the top face and the bottom face of the elastic valve body andholds the elastic valve body, the holding section is provided tosurround the slit, and the elastic valve body includes a peripheralsection which is positioned on an outer side of a position thereof beingheld by the holding section when the elastic valve body is viewed fromthe top face side, and a volume of the peripheral section in a state inwhich the elastic valve body is held by the holding section is largerthan a volume of the peripheral section in a state in which the elasticvalve body is not held by the holding section.

In one aspect, the elastic valve body has a substantially circular outershape when viewed from the top face side, a housing which includes aninner wall section that surrounds a perimeter of the elastic valve bodyin a radial direction of the elastic valve body on an outer side, in theradial direction, of the peripheral section is further provided, and agap is provided between the peripheral section and the inner wallsection in the state in which the elastic valve body is held by theholding section.

In one aspect, the elastic valve body has a substantially circular outershape when viewed from the top face side. A housing which includes aninner wall section that surrounds a perimeter of the elastic valve bodyin a radial direction of the elastic valve body on an outer side, in theradial direction, of the peripheral section is further provide. Theentire peripheral section and the inner wall section are in contact witheach other in the state in which the elastic valve body is held by theholding section.

In one aspect, the elastic valve body includes a constricted sectionwhich is held by the holding section, and an inner diameter of the innerwall section becomes maximum at a position on an outer side, in theradial direction, with respect to the constricted section in across-section parallel to a thickness direction, perpendicular to theradial direction, of the elastic valve body.

In one aspect, the inner wall section has a curved shape projectingoutward in the radial direction such that the inner diameter becomesmaximum at the position on the outer side, in the radial direction, withrespect to the constricted section in the cross-section parallel to thethickness direction.

In one aspect, the holding section is provided in the housing, theholding section is provided with an annular top-face-side holdingsection, which is in contact with the top face of the elastic valvebody, and an annular bottom-face-side holding section which is incontact with the bottom face and holds the elastic valve body togetherwith the top-face-side holding section, the peripheral section is housedin a housing space which is defined by the inner wall section, thetop-face-side holding section, the bottom-face-side holding section, atop-face-side coupling section which connects an end of the inner wallsection and the top-face-side holding section, and a bottom-face-sidecoupling section which connects another end of the inner wall sectionand the bottom-face-side holding section, in a cross-sectionperpendicular to the radial direction, and a gap is provided between theperipheral section and the top-face-side coupling section and/or thebottom-face-side coupling section in the state in which the elasticvalve body is held by the holding section.

In one aspect, the holding section is provided in the housing, theholding section is provided with an annular top-face-side holdingsection, which is in contact with the top face of the elastic valvebody, and an annular bottom-face-side holding section which is incontact with the bottom face and holds the elastic valve body togetherwith the top-face-side holding section, the peripheral section is housedin a housing space which is defined by the inner wall section, thetop-face-side holding section, the bottom-face-side holding section, atop-face-side coupling section which connects an end of the inner wallsection and the top-face-side holding section, and a bottom-face-sidecoupling section which connects another end of the inner wall sectionand the bottom-face-side holding section, in a cross-sectionperpendicular to the radial direction, and the peripheral section andthe entire top-face-side coupling section and/or the entirebottom-face-side coupling section are in contact with each other in thestate in which the elastic valve body is held by the holding section.

In another embodiment, a connector includes: an elastic valve body whichincludes a top face on which a slit is formed and a bottom face on anopposite side of the top face and has a substantially circular outershape when viewed from the top face side; and a housing which includes aholding section that is in contact with the top face and the bottom faceof the elastic valve body to surround the slit when the elastic valvebody is viewed from the top face side and holds the elastic valve body,the housing includes an inner wall section that surrounds a perimeter ofthe elastic valve body in a radial direction of the elastic valve bodyon an outer side, in the radial direction, of the holding section, and amaximum inner diameter of the inner wall section is larger than amaximum outer diameter of the elastic valve body in a state in which theelastic valve body is not held by the holding section.

In one aspect, the maximum inner diameter of the inner wall section islarger than a maximum outer diameter of the elastic valve body in astate in which the elastic valve body is held by the holding section.

In one aspect, the inner wall section is in contact with an outer wallof the elastic valve body so that the maximum inner diameter of theinner wall section and the maximum outer diameter of the elastic valvebody become equal in the state in which the elastic valve body is heldby the holding section.

A third aspect of the present invention is an infusion set provided withthe connector.

According to a connector and an infusion set of certain embodiments ofthe present invention, it is possible to suppress generation of slack ina central section of an elastic valve body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a sectional view of a connector 1 as an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an elastic valve body alone which isused in the connector 1.

FIG. 3A illustrates a top surface of the elastic valve body of FIG. 2,and FIG. 3B illustrates a bottom face thereof.

FIG. 4A illustrates a side view of the elastic valve body viewed from adirection I of FIG. 3B, and FIG. 4B illustrates a side view viewed froma direction II of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 5A illustrates a sectional view of the elastic valve body takenalong line III-III of FIG. 3B, and FIG. 5B illustrates a sectional viewtaken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view obtained by enlarging a part of asection of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7A is a sectional view illustrating a connector provided with aholder which has a different shape from a holder of FIG. 1 or 6 amongholders that can be applied to the present invention.

FIG. 7B is a sectional view illustrating a connector provided with aholder which has a different shape from the holder of FIG. 1 or 6 amongthe holders that can be applied to the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a sectional view illustrating a state before the elasticvalve body is held by a holding section, and FIG. 8B is a sectional viewillustrating a state in which the elastic valve body is held by theholding section.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a connector provided with a top face capwhich has a different shape from a top face cap of FIGS. 8A and 8B amongtop face caps that can be applied to the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a sectional view illustrating a state before an elasticvalve body, which has a different shape from the elastic valve bodyillustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, is held by the holding section, and FIG.10B is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the same elasticvalve body is held by the holding section.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view illustrating an elastic valve body which hasa different shape from the elastic valve body illustrated in FIGS. 8Aand 8B among elastic valve bodies that can be applied to the presentinvention.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view illustrating a state in which a maleconnector is inserted into a connector according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an infusion set as an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are sectional views of a connector as a comparativeexample.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinbelow, embodiments of a connector and an infusion set according tothe present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to14B. Common members are denoted by identical reference signs throughoutthe drawings.

First, one embodiment of the connector according to the presentinvention will be described. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a connector 1as the present embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the connector 1 is provided with a housing 2and an elastic valve body 3 which is attached to the housing 2.

The housing 2 is configured to include a cap 5, which defines aninsertion port 4 into which a male connector 100 (refer to FIG. 12) isinserted from the outside, and a holder6whichsupports the cap 5. Ahollow section 70 defined by the cap 5 corresponds to the insertion port4 in the present embodiment.

The cap 5 includes a top face cap 7 and a bottom face cap 8, and theelastic valve body 3 (described below) is compressed and held by the topface cap 7 and the bottom face cap 8, and fixedly positioned inside thehollow section 70. The hollow section 70 serving as the insertion port 4described above is defined by the top face cap 7 and the bottom face cap8 in the present embodiment.

The holder 6 is a member that supports the top face cap 7 and the bottomface cap 8. Both the top face cap 7 and the bottom face cap 8 areconfigured to be supported by the holder 6 in a contact manner in thepresent embodiment, but a configuration in which the bottom face cap 8is held by the top face cap 7, and only the top face cap 7 is broughtinto contact with the holder 6 so as to be supported by the holder 6 maybe employed. On the contrary, it maybe configured such that the top facecap 7 is held by the bottom face cap 8, and only the bottom face cap 8is brought into contact with the holder 6 so as to be supported by theholder 6.

Examples of materials for the holder 6 and the top face cap 7 and thebottom face cap 8, serving as the cap 5, which form the housing 2,include various resin materials such as polyolefin such as polyethylene,polypropylene, and an ethylene-propylene copolymer; an ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA); polyvinyl chloride; polyvinylidene chloride;polystyrene; polyamide; polyimide; polyamide-imide; polycarbonate;poly(4-methylpentene-1); ionomer; an acrylic resin; polymethylmethacrylate; an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS resin);an acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (AS resin); a butadiene-styrenecopolymer; polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET),polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and polycyclohexane terephthalate(PCT); polyether; polyether ketone (PEK); polyether ether ketone (PEEK);polyether imide; polyacetal (POM); polyphenylene oxide; modifiedpolyphenylene oxide; polysulfone; polyether sulfone; polyphenylenesulfide; polyarylate; aromatic polyester (a liquid crystal polymer); andpolytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride and other fluororesins.In addition, a blend or a polymer alloy containing one or more kinds ofthe above materials may also be used. Alternatively, various glassmaterials, ceramic materials, or metal materials may be used.

The elastic valve body 3 has a slit 9 so that the elastic valve body 3elastically deforms to open or close the slit 9 when the male connector100 (refer to FIG. 12) is attached to or detached from the connector 1,and the slit 9 is arranged so as to close the insertion port 4 which isdefined by the top face cap 7 and the bottom face cap 8 serving as thecap 5. Specifically, the elastic valve body 3 is held by a holdingsection 48 (refer to FIG. 6), configured of the top face cap 7 and thebottom face cap 8, and a position thereof is fixed inside the connector1.

The elastic valve body 3 is molded and formed to be elasticallydeformable. Examples of the material of the elastic valve body 3 includevarious rubber materials such as natural rubber, isoprene rubber,butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, nitrile rubber, chloroprenerubber, butyl rubber, acrylic rubber, ethylene-propylene rubber, hydrinrubber, urethane rubber, silicone rubber, and fluoro rubber; and variousthermoplastic elastomers such as a styrene-based thermoplasticelastomer, a polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomer, a polyvinylchloride-based thermoplastic elastomer, a polyurethane-basedthermoplastic elastomer, a polyester-based thermoplastic elastomer, apolyamide-based thermoplastic elastomer, a polybutadiene-basedthermoplastic elastomer, a transpolyisoprene-based thermoplasticelastomer, a fluoro rubber-based thermoplastic elastomer, and achlorinated polyethylene-based thermoplastic elastomer, and a materialmixed with one or two or more kinds of these materials may be used.

In addition, the hardness of the elastic valve body 3 is preferably 20to 60° (A hardness). Accordingly, it is possible to ensure a moderateelastic force in the elastic valve body 3, and thus, elastic deformation(described below) can be generated in the elastic valve body 3.

Hereinbelow, each member and a characteristic part constituted by eachmember in the present embodiment will be described in detail.

[Elastic Valve Body 3]

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the elastic valve body 3 alone. FIG. 3Aand FIG. 3B are diagrams illustrating a top face 10 and a bottom face 11of the elastic valve body 3 alone, respectively, and FIG. 4A and FIG. 4Billustrate side views of the elastic valve body 3 viewed from directionsI and II, respectively, illustrated in FIG. 3B. In addition, FIG. 5A andFIG. 5B are diagrams illustrating sectional views taken along linesIII-III and IV-IV, respectively, of the elastic valve body 3 in FIG. 3B.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5B, the elastic valve body 3 is a disc-likevalve body which has a substantially circular outer shape when viewedfrom the top face 10 side, and the elastic valve body 3 is provided witha constricted section 12 which is held by the holding section 48(described below) (refer to FIG. 6) of the housing 2 in a radialdirection A of the elastic valve body 3, a central section 13 which ispositioned on an inner side than a position of being held by the holdingsection 48 in the radial direction A, and a peripheral section 14 whichis positioned on an outer side of the position of being held by theholding section 48 in the radial direction A as illustrated in FIGS. 5Aand 5B.

The top face 10, which is a part of an outer wall of the elastic valvebody 3, is configured of a central top face region 15 of the centralsection 13, a constricted section top face region 16 of the constrictedsection 12, which is positioned on the outer side of the central topface region 15 in the radial direction A, and a peripheral section topface region 17 of the peripheral section 14 which is positioned on thefurther outer side of the constricted section top face region 15 in theradial direction A.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5B, the central top face region 15 has aplanar central flat face 18, which extends in the radial direction A onthe outer side (upper side in FIGS. 4A to 5B) of the constricted sectiontop face region 16 and the peripheral section top face region 17, and anannular side wall section 19 which extends in a thickness direction B(direction perpendicular to the radial direction A) perpendicular to thecentral flat face 18.

The straight slit 9 is formed on the center of the central flat face 18.The slit 9 is molded, and does not penetrate the elastic valve body 3 upto the bottom face 11 when molded, and penetrates the elastic valve body3 up to the bottom face 11 when, for example, the male connector 100 isfirst inserted after the molding. A process of allowing the slit 9 topenetrate the elastic valve body 3 maybe executed as a part of themanufacturing process after the molding is completed.

As illustrated in FIG. 3A, the central flat face 18 of the central topface region 15 is formed in an elliptical shape having a minor axis in alongitudinal direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3A) of the slit 9 anda major axis in a direction (lateral direction in FIG. 3A) perpendicularto the longitudinal direction of the slit 9 in a state in which theelastic valve body 3 is not housed in the insertion port 4 (refer toFIG. 1). However, the central flat face 18 of the central top faceregion 15 forms a circular shape as the side wall section 19 of thecentral top face region 15 is pushed by an inner wall 42 (refer toFIG. 1) of the top face cap 7 on the major axis side of the ellipse whenthe elastic valve body 3 is housed in the insertion port 4, andaccordingly, the inner surfaces of the slit 9 are brought into intimatecontact with each other to close the slit 9. For the purpose offacilitating understanding of the configuration, FIG. 1 and FIGS. 6 to10B, 14A and 14B (referred to below) illustrate the slit 9 that is notin an intimate-contact and closed state, but the inner surfaces areactually in the intimate-contact and closed state.

Herein, the central top face region 15 has a curved face 20 thatconnects an outer edge of the central flat face 18 and the side wallsection 19 in addition to the central flat face 18 and the side wallsection 19 described above as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5B.Specifically, the curved face 20 has a circular arc shape in a sectionalview of a section (for example, a section illustrated in FIG. 5A)perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the slit 9, and thecentral flat face 18 and the side wall section 19 are connected to eachother via the curved face 20. The inserted male connector 100 (refer toFIG. 12) is removed in a state in which the elastic valve body 3 isattached to the housing 2 by providing the curved face 20 in theabove-described manner, and the top face 10 of the elastic valve body 3is hardly caught by the inner wall 42 (refer to FIG. 1) of the housing 2which is positioned near an inlet of the insertion port 4 when theelastic valve body 3 having been pushed into the connector 1 (refer toFIG. 1) returns to a predetermined position by a restoring force.Further, the present embodiment is configured such that a part of thecurved face 20 positioned farther from the slit 9 in the major-axisdirection (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of theslit 9 in FIG. 3A) of the elliptical central flat face 18 has a longerlength L of the curved face 20 in the same direction as illustrated inFIG. 3A. This is because an outer edge positioned farther from the slit9 in the major-axis direction of the elliptical central flat face 18 ismore likely to be caught by the inner wall 42 of the housing 2 in theouter edge of the central flat face 18 of the central top face region 15when the elastic valve body 3 returns to the predetermined position bythe restoring force.

As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the curved face 20 having the circular arcshape is not provided on both ends of the central flat face 18 includingthe slit 9 when the elastic valve body 3 is viewed in a cross-sectionparallel to the longitudinal direction of the slit 9, and the centralflat face 18 and the side wall section 19 are directly connected to eachother substantially at right angles in the present embodiment, but thecurved face 20 may be provided along the entire outer edge of thecentral flat face 18, that is, provided so as to surround the centralflat face 18 when the elastic valve body 3 is viewed from the top face10 side.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2, 5A and 5B, the peripheral section top faceregion 17 of the peripheral section 14 is provided with a peripheraledge flat part 21, which extends in the radial direction A and has aplanar shape, and an annular side wall section 22 which is continuous toan inner edge of the peripheral edge flat part 21 and has an innerdiameter in the radial direction A gradually decreasing as approachingthe bottom face 11 side in the thickness direction B perpendicular tothe peripheral edge flat part 21. The side wall section 22 of thepresent embodiment extends in a curved shape in the sectional views ofFIGS. 5A and 5B, but may be configured to extend linearly in the samesectional views. In addition, the side wall section 22 of the presentembodiment is configured such that the inner diameter graduallydecreases in the radial direction A as approaching the bottom face 11side in the thickness direction B, but may have a cylindrical shapewhich is parallel to the thickness direction B. However, when the sidewall section 22 has a tapered shaped whose inner diameter graduallydecreases in the radial direction A as approaching the bottom face 11side in the thickness direction B perpendicular to the peripheral edgeflat part 21 as in the present embodiment, the engaging projection 41(refer to FIG. 6) of the top face cap 7 is guided so as to be in contactwith the side wall section 19 of the central top face region 15 by theside wall section 22 of the peripheral section top face region 17, andfurther, to press the side wall section 19 to the insertion port 4(refer to FIG. 6) side at the time of assembling the elastic valve body3, and thus, variation of a position of the elastic valve body 3 in theradial direction A being held by the holding section 48 (refer to FIG.6) is suppressed. Further, the engaging projection 41 of the top facecap 7 is guided so as to be in contact with the side wall section 19 bythe side wall section 22, and further, to press the side wall section 19inward in the radial direction, and thus, it is possible to suppress thegeneration of slack on the bottom face side of the central section 13 ofthe elastic valve body 3 as the part of the elastic valve body 3 beingcompressed by the holding section 48 is pushed to the insertion port 4side at the time of holding the elastic valve body 3 using the holdingsection 48. The details thereof will be described below (refer to FIG.11).

The constricted section top face region 16 of the constricted section 12is an annular groove bottom 24 of the top face annular groove 23 whichhas the annular side wall section 19 of the central top face region 15and the annular side wall section 22 of the peripheral section top faceregion 17, described above, as groove walls opposing each other. Theengaging projection 41 (refer to FIG. 6) of the top face cap 7(described below) enters the top face annular groove 23, is in contactwith the annular groove bottom 24, and compresses the elastic valve body3 to form the holding section 48.

The bottom face 11, which is a face on the opposite side of the top face10 of the elastic valve body 3 and forms a part of the outer wall of theelastic valve body similarly to the top face 10, is configured of acentral section bottom face region 25 of the central section 13, aconstricted section bottom face region 26 of the constricted section 12,which is positioned on the outer side of the central section bottom faceregion 25 in the radial direction A, and a peripheral section bottomface region 27 of the peripheral section 14 which is positioned on thefurther outer side of the constricted section bottom face region 26 inthe radial direction A.

The central section bottom face region 25 is provided with a centralflat face 28 on the bottom face 11 side, which is a face parallel to thecentral flat face 18 on the top face 10 side, and a central projection29 which is positioned on the outer side of the central flat face 28 inthe radial direction A and projects outward than the central flat face28 (downward in FIGS. 4A to 5B).

Although the slit 9 is not formed in the central flat face 28 on thebottom face 11 side, as described above, when the male connector 100(refer to FIG. 12) is first inserted, for example, a part between thetip of the slit 9 formed in the central flat face 18 on the top face 10side of the elastic valve body 3 and the central flat face 28 on thebottom face 11 side is split, which allows the slit 9 to communicatewith the central flat face 18 on the top face 10 side through thecentral flat face 28 on the bottom face 11 side. FIG. 3B illustrates theposition of the slit 9 on the top face 10 side using a broken line forthe purpose of facilitating the description.

The central projection 29 projects outward than the central flat face28, and thus, a thickness between the central flat face 18 on the topface 10 side and the central projection 29 in the thickness direction Bis thicker than a thickness between the central flat face 18 on the topface 10 side and the central flat face 28 on the bottom face 11 side inthe thickness direction B. When an excessive load is applied to theelastic valve body 3 during the insertion or removal of the maleconnector 100 or when the male connector 100 is repeatedly inserted andremoved, there is a problem that a longitudinal end of the communicatingslit 9 on the bottom face 11 side in a configuration that is notprovided with the central projection 29, but it is possible to suppressthe generation of such a problem by providing the central projection 29and reinforcing the longitudinal end of the slit 9. In the presentembodiment, the annular central projection 29 is formed so as tosurround the central flat face 28 when the elastic valve body 3 isviewed from the bottom face 11 side, and each thickness of partscorresponding to both sides of the slit 9 in the longitudinal direction,formed on the top face 10, is the thickest. When such a configuration isprovided, it is possible to prevent the end of the penetrating slit 9from being split in the longitudinal direction and to ensure both anexcellent insertability of the male connector into the elastic valvebody 3 and maintenance of the elastic restoring force of the elasticvalve body 3.

In addition, an annular side wall section 30, which has a facesubstantially parallel to the thickness direction B and a face inclinedwith respect to the thickness direction B being continuous in acircumferential direction E, is continuous to an outer edge of thecentral projection 29. Specifically, as illustrated in FIGS. 3B, 5A, and5B, a part of the side wall section 30, which is positioned in adirection (minor-axis direction in FIG. 3B) perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of the slit 9 with respect to the slit 9, isconfigured of the surface substantially parallel to the thicknessdirection B, and a part of the side wall section 30 which is positionedin the longitudinal direction of the slit 9 (the major-axis direction inFIG. 3B) with respect to the slit 9 is configured of a surface whoseouter diameter gradually increases in the radial direction A asapproaching the top face 10 side in the thickness direction B.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the peripheral section bottom faceregion 27 is provided with a planar peripheral edge flat part 31extending in the radial direction A, and an annular side wall section 32which is continuous to an inner edge of a peripheral edge flat part 31and extends in the thickness direction B substantially perpendicular tothe peripheral edge flat part 31. The side wall section 32 of thepresent embodiment is configured to extend in the thickness direction Bin the sectional views of FIGS. 5A and 5B, but may be configured suchthat an inner diameter thereof gradually decreases in the radialdirection A as approaching the top face 10 side in the thicknessdirection B. When such a configuration is provided, the engagingprojection 45 (refer to FIG. 6) of the bottom face cap 8 is guided so asto be in contact with the side wall section 30 of the central sectionbottom face region 25 by the side wall section 32 of the peripheralsection bottom face region 27, and further, to press the side wallsection 30 at the time of assembling the elastic valve body 3 as will bedescribed below, and the variation of the position of the elastic valvebody 3 in the radial direction A being held by the holding section 48(refer to FIG. 6) is suppressed. Further, the engaging projection 45 ofthe bottom face cap 8 is guided so as to be in contact with the sidewall section 30 of the central section 13 by the side wall section 32 ofthe peripheral section bottom face region 27, and further, to press theside wall section 30 inward in the radial direction, and thus, it ispossible to further suppress the generation of slack of the centralsection 13 on the bottom face 11 side of the elastic valve body 3 as thepart of the elastic valve body 3 being compressed by the holding section48 moves to the insertion port 4 side at the time of holding the elasticvalve body 3 using the holding section 48 (refer to FIG. 6). Detailsthereof will be described below (refer to FIG. 11).

The constricted section bottom face region 26 of the constricted section12 is an annular groove bottom 34 of a bottom face annular groove 33which has the annular side wall section 30 of the central section bottomface region 25 and the annular side wall section 32 of the peripheralsection bottom face region 27, described above, as groove walls. Theengaging projection 45 of the bottom face cap 8 (described below) entersthe bottom face annular groove 33, is in contact with the annular groovebottom 34, and compresses and holds the elastic valve body 3 togetherwith the engaging projection 41 of the top face cap 7, thereby formingthe holding section 48 (refer to FIG. 6).

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5B, an outer edge of the peripheral sectiontop face region 17 of the top face 10 of the elastic valve body 3 in theradial direction A and an outer edge of the peripheral section bottomface region 27 of the bottom face 11 in the radial direction A areconnected to each other via an annular side wall section 35 forming theouter wall of the elastic valve body 3 together with the top face 10 andthe bottom face 11. The side wall section 35 of the present embodimentis an outer peripheral face which is parallel to the thickness directionB as illustrated in FIGS. 4A to 5B.

[Top Face Cap 7]

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating a state in which theabove-described elastic valve body 3 is held by the top face cap 7 andthe bottom face cap 8. Each configuration of the top face cap 7, thebottom face cap 8, and the holder 6 will be described as follows withreference to FIGS. 1 and 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the top face cap 7 is configured of a,substantially cylindrical hollow barrel 36 and a flange 37 which isprovided on an end of the hollow barrel 36. As illustrated in FIG. 6, anupper face (upper face in FIG. 6) on the other end of the hollow barrel36 is formed as a planar extending section 38 which extends in theradial direction A (the same direction as a direction perpendicular toan insertion direction C of the male connector 100 in FIGS. 1 and 6) ofthe elastic valve body 3. The extending section 38 includes asubstantially circular edge 39 which defines an end of the insertionport 4 into which the male connector 100 is inserted from the outside. Ascrew thread 40 is formed on an outer peripheral face of the hollowbarrel 36 so as to be screwed with a lock connector which is defined byISO 594. The flange 37 is apart which is formed to be integrated withthe hollow barrel 36, and is configured such that the top face cap 7 isheld by the holder 6 as the flange 37 is engaged with the holder 6(described below).

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the engaging projection 41, which projectstoward the insertion direction C of the male connector 100, enters thetop face annular groove 23 (refer to FIGS. 2 to 3B, 5A and 5B) of theelastic valve body 3 described above, and compresses the elastic valvebody 3 together with the engaging projection 45 of the bottom face cap8, is provided near the edge 39 of an inner wall of the hollow barrel36. The annular inner wall 42 of the top face cap 7, formed between theedge 39 and the engaging projection 41, is configured so as to be incontact with the side wall section 19 (refer to FIGS. 2 to 5B) of thecentral top face region 15 of the elastic valve body 3, described above,in a state in which the male connector 100 is not inserted, and to be incontact with the male connector 100 in a state in which the maleconnector 100 is inserted (refer to FIG. 12). That is, the central topface region 15 (refer to FIGS. 2 to 5B) of the elastic valve body 3 isfit into a substantially columnar space surrounded by the inner wall 42in the state in which the male connector 100 is not inserted, and themale connector 100 is fit with the top face cap 7 by the cylindricalinner wall 42 in the state in which the male connector 100 is inserted.The inner wall 42 according to the present embodiment has a cylindricalshape which is parallel to the insertion direction C, but may have atapered shape whose inner diameter is gradually slimmer in the insertiondirection C in accordance with the outer shape of the male connector100.

In addition, the central flat face 18 of the central top face region 15of the elastic valve body 3, which extends in the radial direction A ofthe elastic valve body 3, is positioned on a reverse direction D side ofthe insertion direction C of the male connector than the edge 39 in thestate in which the male connector 100 is not inserted as illustrated inFIG. 6. That is, a part of the central top face region 15 projectstoward the reverse direction D than the edge 39.

Even if the elastic valve body 3 is somewhat pushed into the connector 1(in the insertion direction C of the male connector 100) when a usersuch as a health care professional wipes off a liquid medicine or thelike adhering near on the top face 10, which is the outer wall of theelastic valve body 3, a step (step that causes the inner wall 42 toexpose to the outside) is hardly formed between the central top faceregion 15 of the elastic valve body 3 and the edge 39 of the top facecap 7 due to such push by providing the above-described configuration,and thus, it is easy to wipe off the liquid medicine or the like.

[Bottom Face Cap 8]

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the bottom face cap 8 is configured to includea substantially cylindrical hollow barrel 43 and a flange 44 which isprovided on an end of the hollow barrel 43 similarly to the top face cap7. The engaging projection 45, which projects toward the reversedirection D, which is reverse to the insertion direction C of the maleconnector 100, enters the bottom face annular groove 33 (refer to FIGS.3B, 5A and 5B) of the elastic valve body 3, described above, andcompresses and holds the elastic valve body 3 together with the engagingprojection 41 of the top face cap 7, is provided on the other end of thehollow barrel 43 (refer to FIG. 6).

The bottom face cap 8 is held by the top face cap 7 by beingultrasonic-bonded to an inner face of the hollow barrel 36 and/or alower face (lower face in FIG. 1) of the flange 37 of the top face cap7, and further, is fixedly positioned by supporting the flange 44 of thebottom face cap 8 by the holder 6 (described below).

[Holder 6]As illustrated in FIG. 1, the holder 6 supports the top facecap 7 and the bottom face cap 8, and defines a hollow section 71 insidethereof. Although the holder 6 of the present embodiment supports boththe top face cap 7 and the bottom face cap 8 through direct contact, itmay be configured such that, for example, the holder 6 is not in contactwith the top face cap 7 but in direct-contact only with the bottom facecap 8, and the top face cap 7 is in contact with and supported by thebottom face cap 8. That is, it maybe configured such that the holder 6is in direct contact with and supports anyone between the top face cap 7and the bottom face cap 8, and is not in direct-contact with the other.The members being in direct-contact with each other are preferablybonded to each other by, for example, ultrasonic-bonding or the like.

In addition, the insertion port 4 (hollow section 70), which is definedby the inner wall of the top face cap 7 and the inner wall of the bottomface cap 8, and the hollow section 71 communicate with each other in thestate in which the male connector 100 is not inserted. Here, the“communication” between the insertion port 4 and the hollow section 71means that both the spaces are connected, and includes not only directconnection between the spaces, but also connection between the spacesthrough another space . The insert ion port 4 and the hollow section 71according to the present embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 1, areconfigured to be directly connected.

In addition, in the state in which the male connector 100 is insertedinto the connector 1, a tip 101 of the male connector 100 enters or isinserted to the vicinity of the hollow section 71 through the insertionport 4, and a liquid flow path inside the male connector 100 and thehollow section 71 of the holder 6 communicate with each other, whichwill be described in detail below.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the holder 6 according to the presentembodiment is provided with an outer cylindrical section 46 which has asubstantially cylindrical shape and is provided with a screw thread fora lock connector on an inner peripheral face thereof, and a male luersection 47 which is provided in a hollow section that is defined by theouter cylindrical section 46, and various holders can be used withoutbeing limited to such a shape of the holder 6, and can be suitablychanged according to a use application of the user or the like. Forexample, a connector 110 provided with a holder 60 as illustrated inFIG. 7A may be used. The holder 60 is provided with a holder main body61, which is formed of a substantially cylindrical casing having ahollow section therein, and cylindrical upstream port 62 and downstreamport 63 which project from an outer peripheral face of the holder mainbody 61. The hollow inside the holder main body 61 serves as a part of aliquid flow path 64 from the upstream port 62 to the downstream port 63.In addition, the top face cap 7 and the bottom face cap 8 are supportedon an outer wall of the holder 60. A shape of the liquid flow pathinside the holder 60 illustrated in FIG. 7A and an outer shape thereofformed along the shape of the liquid flow path are different from thoseof the holder 6, but the elastic valve body 3, the top face cap 7, andthe bottom face cap 8, which are the same as those described above, canbe used.

In addition, a holder 600 illustrated in FIG. 7B can be used instead ofthe holder 6 other than the above-described holder 60. FIG. 7Billustrates a three-way stopcock as a connector 120. The holder 600 inthe three-way stopcock is provided with a substantially cylindricalholder main body 602 which houses a cock 601 therein, a substantiallycylindrical upstream port 603 provided on an outer wall of the holdermain body 602, a substantially cylindrical downstream port 604 providedon the outer wall of the holder main body 602 at a position on theopposite side of the upstream port 603 with the holder main body 602sandwiched therebetween, and a branch port 605 provided on the outerwall of the holder main body 602 at a position different from thepositions of the upstream port 603 and the downstream port 604. It ispossible to form a liquid flow path 606 as indicated by an arrow in FIG.7B inside the holder 600. The elastic valve body 3, the top face cap 7,and the bottom face cap 8 are provided on an end of the branch port 605of the holder 600 illustrated in FIG. 7B, and are supported by theholder 600.

Herein, the present embodiment has the configuration in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the top face cap 7 and the bottom facecap 8 forming the cap 5, but is not limited to such a configuration. Forexample, the bottom face cap 8 and the holder 6 may be configured usinga single member to cause the holder 6 to serve the function of thebottom face cap 8 and the elastic valve body 3 may be held using the topface cap 7 forming the cap 5 and the holder 6. In addition, the bottomface cap 8 and the holder 60 may be configured using a single member byemploying the shape of the holder 60 instead of the shape of the holder6, or the bottom face cap 8 and the holder 600 may be configured using asingle member by employing the shape of the holder 600 instead of theshape of the holder 6.

[Holding Section 48 to Hold Elastic Valve Body 3]

Next, a description will be given regarding the configuration ofcompressing and holding the elastic valve body 3 using the top face cap7 and the bottom face cap 8.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the elastic valve body 3 is attached to closethe hollow section 70 (insertion port 4) which is defined by the hollowbarrel 36 of the top face cap 7 and the hollow barrel 43 of the bottomface cap 8. Specifically, the holding section 48 is fixedly positionedinside the hollow section 70 of the elastic valve body 3 by being incontact with the top face 10 in which the slit 9 of the elastic valvebody 3 is formed and the bottom face 11 on the opposite side of the topface 10 and holding the elastic valve body 3. More specifically, theengaging projection 41 of the top face cap 7 enters the top face annulargroove 23 (refer to FIGS. 5A and 5B and the like) of the elastic valvebody 3, then, the engaging projection 45 of the bottom face cap 8 entersthe bottom face annular groove 33 of the elastic valve body 3, and theholding section 48 is formed by compressing the elastic valve body 3using the groove bottom 24 (refer to FIGS. 5A and 5B and the like) ofthe top face 10 and the groove bottom 34 of the bottom face 11 and isfixedly positioned in the hollow section 70 of the elastic valve body 3.The constricted section 12 of the elastic valve body 3 according to thepresent embodiment has a thickness of about 1.0 mm in the thicknessdirection B in the state before being held by the holding section 48,and is compressed to a thickness (for example, 0.2 to 0.3 mm) that makesit difficult to be elastically deformed in the thickness direction B bythe compression of the holding section 48, but such an amount ofcompression is illustrative, and can be suitably changed according to ashape, a size or the like of the elastic valve body.

Herein, the holding section 48 is configured of a top-face-side holdingsection 49, which is in contact with the top face 10 of the elasticvalve body 3, and a bottom-face-side holding section 50 which is incontact with the bottom face 11 of the elastic valve body 3 and holdsthe elastic valve body 3 together with the top-face-side holding section49, and the holding section 48 is provided in a substantially circularshape to surround the slit 9 when the elastic valve body 3 is viewedfrom the top face 10 side. The top-face-side holding section 49according to the present embodiment is a tip of the engaging projection41 of the top face cap 7, and the bottom-face-side holding section 50 isa tip of the engaging projection 45 of the bottom face cap 8. Inaddition, the “case of being viewed from the top face 10 side” of theelastic valve body 3 means a case in which the top-face-side holdingsection 49 and the bottom-face-side holding section 50 are projected ona virtual plane obtained when the elastic valve body 3 is viewed fromthe top face 10, and does not mean whether or not it is actuallyviewable.

The elastic valve body 3 in the state of being held by the holdingsection 48 is provided with the constricted section 12 which is held bythe holding section 48, the central section 13 which is positioned onthe inner side in the radial direction A than the constricted section12, and the peripheral section 14 which is positioned on the outer side,in the radial direction A, of the constricted section 12 in the case ofbeing viewed from the top face 10 side.

In the same state, the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3is surrounded by a partial inner wall of the top face cap 7 and apartial outer wall of the bottom face cap 8. Details thereof will bedescribed below (refer to FIGS. 8A and 8B and the like).

In addition, the holding section 48 according to the present embodimentis provided over the entire region of the elastic valve body 3 in acircumferential direction E (refer to FIGS. 3A and 3B) when the elasticvalve body 3 is viewed from the top face 10 side, but can be configuredto be provided only in a part in circumferential direction E, forexample, arranged to be spaced at predetermined intervals in thecircumferential direction E with pectinate projections. However, whenthe holding section 48 is provided in the entire region in thecircumferential direction E to be in contact with the top face 10 andthe bottom face 11 of the elastic valve body 3 in the entire region inthe circumferential direction E as in the present embodiment, it ispossible to further prevent the constricted section 12 and theperipheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 from moving to theinsertion port 4 side against the repeated insertion and removal of themale connector.

Further, the holding section 48 of the present embodiment is configuredof the housing 2. Specifically, the holding section 48 of the presentembodiment is configured of a tip of the engaging projection 41 of thetop face cap 7 and a tip of the engaging projection 45 of the bottomface cap 8, but the shape of the holding section 48 is not limitedthereto. For example, a holding section may be configured using membersother than the members forming a housing. In addition, the holdingsection is not limited to the mode of the holding section 48 accordingto the present embodiment even when being configured of the housing, andfor example, the housing is provided with a top-face-side memberpositioned on a top face side of an elastic valve body, abottom-face-side member positioned on a bottom face side of the elasticvalve body, and a contact member, which is positioned between thetop-face-side member and the bottom-face-side member and is heldtherebetween to be in direct-contact with the top face and the bottomface of the elastic valve body to hold the elastic valve body, and thiscontact member may form a holding section. In such a case, the holdingsection is formed by providing the contact member to be sandwichedbetween the top-face-side member and the bottom-face-side member, andthus, the configuration is provided in which the top-face-side memberand the bottom-face-side member are not in direct-contact with the topface and the bottom face of the elastic valve body.

[Regarding Volume of Peripheral Section 14 of Elastic Valve Body 3]

Next, a description will be given regarding a relationship between avolume of the peripheral section 14 in the state in which the elasticvalve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 of the housing 2, inother words, the top-face-side holding section 49 and thebottom-face-side holding section 50 which are configured using theengaging projections 41 and 45 of the top face cap 7 and the bottom facecap 8, and a volume of the peripheral section 14 in the state in whichthe elastic valve body 3 is not held by the holding section 48.

The “state in which the elastic valve body is held by the holdingsection” means a state in which the elastic valve body is assembledinside the connector so as to be used as the connector by a user such asa health care professional as illustrated in FIG. 1 or the like. Inaddition, the “state in which the elastic valve body is not held by theholding section” means a state in which the elastic valve body is notassembled inside the connector, that is, the state of the elastic valvebody alone as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5B, for example.

A volume V1 of the peripheral section 14 in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 is larger than avolume V2 of the peripheral section 14 in the state in which the elasticvalve body 3 is not held by the holding section 48 in the presentembodiment.

First, a description will be given regarding a connector 200 as acomparative example of the connector 1 according to the presentembodiment. FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate the connector 200 as thecomparative example. The connector 200 is different from the connector 1as the present embodiment in terms that a volume of a peripheral sectionis not changed before and after an elastic valve body is held by aholding section. FIG. 14A illustrates a state in which an elastic valvebody 203 of the connector 200 is not held by a holding section 248, andFIG. 14B illustrates a state in which the elastic valve body 203 is heldby the holding section 248. A broken line of FIG. 14A illustrates aposition of a bottom face cap 208 in a state in which the elastic valvebody 203 is held by the holding section 248.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B, a peripheral section 214 of theelastic valve body 203 in the state in which the elastic valve body 203is not held by the holding section 248, is larger than a housing space251 (a space which is defined by a top face cap 207 of a solid line andthe bottom face cap 208 of the broken line in FIG. 14A, and a spacewhich is defined by the top face cap 207 of the solid line and thebottom face cap 208 of the broken line in FIG. 14B) in the state inwhich the elastic valve body 203 is held by the holding section 248.That is, the peripheral section 214 of the elastic valve body 203 iscompressed by a wall face that defines the housing space 251, and thevolume thereof decreases when the state illustrated in FIG. 14A in whichthe elastic valve body 203 is not held by the holding section 248 ischanged to the state illustrated in FIG. 14B in which the elastic valvebody 203 is held by the holding section 248.

Thus, a part of the elastic valve body 203, which is pushed in theradial direction A from a position of a constricted section 212 bycompression of the holding section 248, is likely to be pushed toward acentral section 213 side instead of the peripheral section 214 side, andthere is a risk that slack on a bottom face 211 side of the centralsection 213 occurs as illustrated in FIG. 14B. When there is the slackas illustrated in FIG. 14B, a force to pull the central section 213 ofthe elastic valve body 203 to the peripheral section 214 side in theradial direction A becomes weak as compared to a configuration in whichthere is no slack, and there is a possibility that the central section213 of the elastic valve body 203 is stretched at the time of repeatedlyperforming insertion and removal of a male connector. When the centralsection 213 of the elastic valve body 203 is stretched, there is a riskthat the central section 213 is hardly restored to its original positioneven after removing the male connector.

In addition, if there is the slack as illustrated in FIG. 14B, a volumeof the elastic valve body 203 that is sandwiched by the male connector100 and the inner walls of the top face cap 207 and the bottom face cap208 increases when the male connector 100 as illustrated in FIG. 12 isinserted into the connector 200. As a result, the insertion resistanceof the male connector 100 increases, and there is a risk that theinsertability of the male connector deteriorates. Further, there is alsoa possibility that an abrasion is formed in the elastic valve body 203,and there is a risk that s worn valve body piece becomes a foreignsubstance or a risk that the restoring force of the elastic valve body203 deteriorates when the abrasion is formed in the elastic valve body203.

On the contrary, the connector 1 as the present embodiment is configuredto increase the volume of the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valvebody 3, as described above, when the elastic valve body 3 is changedfrom the state of not being held to the state of being held by theholding section 48, and thus, the slack of the central section 13 on thebottom face 11 side hardly occurs, which is different form the connector200 as the comparative example described above. Hereinbelow, adescription will be given in details regarding a change in volume of theperipheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 in the connector 1 asthe present embodiment.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating the change in volume of theperipheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 between the states ofthe elastic valve body 3 being held and not being held by the holdingsection 48 in the connector 1 as the present embodiment. Specifically,FIG. 8A illustrates a state immediately before the elastic valve body 3,the top face cap 7, and the bottom face cap 8 are assembled, that is,the state in which the elastic valve body 3 is not held by the holdingsection 48, and FIG. 8B illustrates a state in which the elastic valvebody 3 is assembled inside the connector 1, that is, the state in whichthe elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a partial volume of the elastic valvebody 3 is moved outward in the radial direction A when the constrictedsection 12 of the elastic valve body 3 is compressed by the holdingsection 48, and thus, the volume of the peripheral section 14 of theelastic valve body 3 increases as compared to that of the state beforethe constricted section 12 is compressed by the holding section 48.

Specifically, the housing 2 defines an annular housing space 51 in whichthe peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 can be housed asillustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. More specifically, the housing 2 isprovided with an inner wall section 52, which surrounds the perimeter ofthe elastic valve body 3 in the radial direction A on the outer side ofthe peripheral section 14 in the radial direction A in the state inwhich the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48, andthe housing space 51 is defined by the inner wall section 52, thetop-face-side holding section 49, the bottom-face-side holding section50, a top-face-side coupling section 53, which connects an end (an endon a side of the reverse direction D of the insertion direction C of themail connector in FIGS. 8A and 8B) of the inner wall section 52 and thetop-face-side holding section 49, and a bottom-face-side couplingsection 54, which connects the other end (an end on a side of theinsertion direction C in FIGS. 8A and 8B) of the inner wall section 52and the bottom-face-side holding section 50, in a section perpendicularto the radial direction A (section not only parallel to the thicknessdirection B but also parallel to the insertion direction C of the maleconnector).

FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating the state in which the elastic valvebody 3 is not held by the holding section 48, and illustrates a positionof the engaging projection 45 of the bottom face cap 8 in the state inwhich the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 using abroken line. As illustrated in FIG. 8A, when an outer wall of theperipheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 in the state of notbeing held by the holding section 48 and a wall face (a partial innerwall of the top face cap 7 indicated by the solid line and a partialouter wall of the bottom face cap 8 indicated by the broken line in FIG.8A) that defines the housing space 51 in the state in which the elasticvalve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 are viewed, a gap 55 isprovided therebetween in the present embodiment. In other words, thevolume V2 of the peripheral section 14 in the state in which the elasticvalve body 3 is not held by the holding section 48 (refer to FIG. 8A) issmaller than a volume V3 of the housing space 51 in the state in whichthe elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 (refer toFIG. 8B).

Accordingly, when the elastic valve body 3 is changed from the state ofFIG. 8A to the state of being held by the holding section 48 illustratedin FIG. 8B, the constricted section 12 is compressed and deformed bycompression of the engaging projection 41 of the top face cap 7 and theengaging projection 45 of the bottom face cap 8, and further, a part ofthe elastic valve body 3 is moved from the position of the constrictedsection 12 to be pushed to the peripheral section 14 side in the radialdirection A. That is, the volume relationship of V2<V3 is provided as inthe present embodiment, it is possible to cause a part of the elasticvalve body 3 moving from the constricted section 12 to be easily movedto the peripheral section 14 side as compared to a configuration havinga volume relationship of V2≥V3. Thus, a part of the elastic valve body 3is moved from the position of the constricted section 12 to the centralsection 13 side when the elastic valve body 3 is changed from the stateillustrated in FIG. 8A to the state illustrated in FIG. 8B, that is,when being assembled to the connector 1, and accordingly, the centralsection 13 on the rear face 11 side is prevented from being slack.

In other words, the peripheral section 14 in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 is in a state inwhich a part of the elastic valve body 3 is pushed and moved from theposition of the constricted section 12 by compression of the holdingsection 48, and thus, the volume V1 of the peripheral section 14 in thestate in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section48 is larger than the volume V2 of the peripheral section 14 in thestate in which the elastic valve body 3 is not held by the holdingsection 48.

The peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 is a part which ispositioned on the outer side of a position of the elastic valve body 3that is held by the holding section 48 when the elastic valve body 3 isviewed from the top face 10 side. Herein, the “position of being held bythe holding section” of the elastic valve body 3 means a position of theelastic valve body 3 which is held by the top-face-side holding section49 and the bottom-face-side holding section 50. Accordingly, the“peripheral section of the elastic valve body” means a part which ispositioned on the outer side, in the radial direction, of a line segmentobtained by connecting an outermost position of the top-face-sideholding section in the radial direction and an outermost position of thebottom-face-side holding section in the radial direction.

Specifically, the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3according to the present embodiment is a part on the outer side in theradial direction A with respect to a virtual line (refer to a two-dotchain line in FIG. 8B) obtained by connecting a point P of thetop-face-side holding section 49 positioned on the outermost side in theradial direction A and a point Q of the bottom-face-side holding section50 positioned on the outermost side in the radial direction A in thestate in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section48 in sectional views illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6 (a section whichpasses through a midpoint of the slit 9 in the longitudinal directionand is parallel to the thickness direction B of the elastic valve body 3when the elastic valve body 3 is viewed from the top face 10 side).

It is possible to specify the position of the elastic valve body 3 beingheld by the holding section 48 according to the above-described method,and accordingly, it is also possible to specify the peripheral section14 of the elastic valve body 3. The peripheral section 14 in the statein which the elastic valve body 3 is not assembled inside the connector1 is specified by specifying a position of the elastic valve body 3being held by the holding section 48 at the time of being assembledinside the connector 1 (refer to a two-dot chain line in FIG. 8A).

In this manner, it is possible to compare the volume of the peripheralsection 14 of the elastic valve body 3 between the states of the elasticvalve body 3 being held and not being held by the holding section 48.

Next, a description will be given in more details regarding theperipheral section 14 and the housing space 51 of the elastic valve body3 according to the present embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. Asillustrated in FIG. 8B, the gap 55 is maintained between the outer wallof the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 and the wallface that defines the housing space 51 even in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 in the presentembodiment . In other words, the gap 55 is defined by the inner wall ofthe housing 2 that defines the housing space 51 and the outer wall ofthe peripheral section 14 even in the state in which the elastic valvebody 3 is held by the holding section 48.

When the configuration is provided such that the volume of theperipheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 increases bycompressing and holding the constricted section 12 of the elastic valvebody 3 using the holding section 48, it may be configured such that theentire outer wall of the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body3 is in contact with the entire wall face that defines the housing space51 and the gap 55 is not provided therebetween in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48. However, it ispreferable to provide the configuration as in the present embodimentsuch that the gap 55 is maintained between the outer wall of theperipheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 and the wall face thatdefines the housing space 51 even in the state in which the elasticvalve body 3 is held by the holding section 48.

When it is configured such that the entire outer wall of the peripheralsection 14 of the elastic valve body 3 is in contact with the entirewall face that defines the housing space 51, and the peripheral section14 presses the wall face that defines the housing space 51 in the statein which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48, thehousing space 51 is filled with the peripheral section 14 due to anincrease of the volume of the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valvebody 3 during the process of holding and compressing the elastic valvebody 3 using the holding section 48. That is, the peripheral section 14of the elastic valve body 3 is compressed deformed by the entire wallface that defines the housing space 51 before the holding (compressionof the constricted section 12) of the elastic valve body 3 using theholding section 48 is completed (before the assembly of the elasticvalve body 3 inside the connector 1 is completed), and a reaction forceis loaded from the wall face. When the holding of the elastic valve body3 using the holding section 48 is continued in such a state, a part ofthe elastic valve body 3 is likely to be pushed to the central section13 side in the radial direction A due to the reaction force from thewall face that defines the housing space 51. That is, when theconfiguration illustrated in the present embodiment is provided suchthat the gap 55 is maintained between the outer wall of the peripheralsection 14 and the wall face that defines the housing space 51 in thestate in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section48, it is possible to further suppress the slack of the central section13 on the bottom face 11 side as compared to a configuration in whichthe gap 55 is not provided in the same state.

Next, a description will be given in detail regarding a position of thegap 55 with respect to the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valvebody 3 in the state in which the elastic valve body 3 is not held by theholding section 48 . As illustrated in FIG. 8A, the gap 55 is providedbetween the inner wall section 52, which surrounds the perimeter of theelastic valve body 3 in the radial direction A on the outer side of theperipheral section 14 in the radial direction A, and the outer wall ofthe peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 in the presentembodiment. This is because a part of the elastic valve body 3 is pushedoutward in the radial direction A from the position of the constrictedsection 12, and the side wall section 35 of the peripheral section 14easily bulges outward in the radial direction A when the constrictedsection 12 of the elastic valve body 3 is compressed by the holdingsection 48. In particular, the side wall section 35 of the peripheralsection 14 is more likely to bulge outward in the radial direction Awhen the elastic valve body 3 is compressed and held by the holdingsection 48 in a configuration in which a width of the peripheral section14 of the elastic valve body 3 in the radial direction A is relativelythin (for example, 1 mm or less) as in the present embodiment, and thus,it is advantageous to provide the gap between the inner wall section 52and the side wall section 35 of the peripheral section 14 of the elasticvalve body 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 8B, the present embodiment is configured suchthat a part of the side wall section 35 of the peripheral section 14 anda part of the inner wall section 52 are in contact with each other inthe state in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holdingsection 48, and the gap 55 is still provided between the peripheralsection 14 and the inner wall section 52. It may be configured such thatthe outer wall of the peripheral section 14 and the entire inner wallsection 52 are in contact with each other and the gap 55 is not providedtherebetween in the state in which the elastic valve body 3 is held bythe holding section 48, but it is preferable to provide theconfiguration illustrated in the present embodiment such that the gap 55is maintained in the same state as described above.

Further, the present embodiment is configured such that the width of theperipheral section 14 in the radial direction A is relatively thin, andthus, a part of the side wall section 35 of the peripheral section 14,which is positioned on the outer side in the radial direction A withrespect to the constricted section 12 of the elastic valve body 3 (apart which is positioned at the position of the constricted section 12in the thickness direction B), bulges outward the most as the elasticvalve body 3 is compressed by the holding section 48. Further, thepresent embodiment is configured such that this part of the side wallsection 35 is in contact with a part of the inner wall section 52 in thestate in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section48, but it is more preferable to configure the part of the side wallsection 35 not to be in contact with the inner wall section 52. Such aconfiguration is easily realized by employing a top face cap 700 asillustrated in FIG. 9, for example, which has a different shape from thetop face cap 7 according to the present embodiment.

The top face cap 700 of a connector 130 illustrated in FIG. 9 isprovided with an inner wall section520 in across-section parallel to thethickness direction B of the elastic valve body 3, which is similar tothe top face cap 7. However, the inner wall section 520 of the top facecap 700 illustrated in FIG. 9 has a curved shape that projects outwardin the radial direction A such that an inner diameter thereof is maximumat a position on the outer side in the radial direction A with respectto the constricted section 12 in the same sectional view, while theinner wall section 52 of the top face cap 7 is straight to besubstantially parallel to the thickness direction B in the sectionalviews of FIGS. 1 and 6.

When such a configuration is provided, the inner diameter of the innerwall section 520 of the top face cap 700 becomes maximum at the positionon the outer side in the radial direction A with respect to theconstricted section 12. Thus, it is possible to prevent a part of theside wall section 35 of the peripheral section 14, which is positionedon the outer side in the radial direction A with respect to theconstricted section 12 of the elastic valve body 3, from being incontact with the inner wall section 520 in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the inner wall section 520 of the top face cap700 has the curved shape projecting outward in the radial direction Asuch that the inner diameter thereof becomes maximum at the position onthe outer side in the radial direction A with respect to the constrictedsection 12, but is not limited to the configuration of the inner wallsection 520 of the top face cap 700 illustrated in FIG. 9 as long as itis configured such that a part of the side wall section 35 of theperipheral section 14, which is positioned on the outer side in theradial direction A with respect to the constricted section 12, is not incontact with the inner wall section.

In addition, the connectors 1 and 130 illustrated, respectively, inFIGS. 8A and 8B, and 9, have each configuration in which a part of theside wall section 35 of the peripheral section 14 is in contact witheach part of the inner wall sections 52 and 520 in the state in whichthe elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48, but the sidewall section 35 may be configured not to be in contact with the innerwall section 52 or 520 at all.

As described above, the volume of the peripheral section 14 is changedbefore and after the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section48 in the connector 1 as the present embodiment, but this change involume can be described as a change in outer diameter of the elasticvalve body 3 in the radial direction A. That is, a maximum outerdiameter X1 of the elastic valve body 3 in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 is larger than amaximum outer diameter X2 of the elastic valve body 3 in the state ofnot being held by the holding section 48 (refer to FIGS. 8A and 8B). The“maximum outer diameter of the elastic valve body” means an outerdiameter of the elastic valve body in the case of projecting the elasticvalve body on a virtual plane obtained when the elastic valve body isviewed from the top face side.

In addition, a part of the side wall section 35 of the peripheralsection 14, which is positioned on the outer side in the radialdirection A with respect to the constricted section 12 of the elasticvalve body 3 relatively easily bulges when the elastic valve body 3 isheld and compressed by the holding section 48 as described above (referto FIG. 9). Accordingly, it is also possible to describe theabove-described volume change of the peripheral section 14 using theouter diameter of the elastic valve body 3 in a cross-section parallelto the radial direction A including the constricted section 12 in thestate of being held by the holding section 48, and the outer diameter ofthe elastic valve body 3 in a cross-section parallel to the radialdirection A including the constricted section 12 in the state of notbeing held by the holding section 48, other than the relationshipbetween the maximum outer diameters X1 and X2 before and after theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48.

Specifically, it is configured such that the outer diameter of theelastic valve body 3 in the cross-section parallel to the radialdirection A including the constricted section 12 in the state of beingheld by the holding section 48 is larger than the outer diameter of theelastic valve body 3 in the cross -section parallel to the radialdirection A including the constricted section 12 in the state of notbeing held by the holding section 48 (refer to FIGS. 8A and 8B).

Further, the volume change of the peripheral section 14 before and afterthe elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 can beexpressed as a relationship between an inner diameter of the inner wallsection 52 and the outer diameter of the elastic valve body 3. That is,a maximum inner diameter X3 of the inner wall section 52 is larger thanthe maximum outer diameter X2 of the elastic valve body 3 in the statein which the elastic valve body 3 is not held by the holding section 48(refer to FIG. 8A).

The inner wall section 52 of the present embodiment has a substantiallycylindrical shape, and thus, the inner diameter of the inner wallsection 52 is substantially equal at an arbitrary position in theinsertion direction C of the male connector, and this inner diameterbecomes the maximum inner diameter X3 of the inner wall section 52.

In addition, a part of the side wall section 35 of the peripheralsection 14, which is positioned on the outer side in the radialdirection A with respect to the constricted section 12 of the elasticvalve body 3 relatively easily bulges when the elastic valve body 3 isheld and compressed by the holding section 48 as described above (referto FIG. 9). Accordingly, it is also possible to express theabove-described volume change of the peripheral section 14 using theinner diameter of the inner wall section 52 in a cross-section parallelto the radial direction A including the constricted section 12 in thestate of being held by the holding section 48, and the outer diameter ofthe elastic valve body 3 in a cross-section parallel to the radialdirection A including the constricted section 12 in the state of notbeing held by the holding section 48, other than the relationshipbetween the maximum inner diameter X3 of the inner wall section 52 andthe maximum outer diameter X2 of the elastic valve body 3. Specifically,it is configured such that the inner diameter of the inner wall section52 in the cross-section parallel to the radial direction A including theconstricted section 12 in the state of being held by the holding section48 is larger than the outer diameter of the elastic valve body in thecross-section parallel to the radial direction A including theconstricted section 12 in the state of not being held by the holdingsection 48 (refer to FIGS. 8A and 8B).

Although it may be configured such that the inner wall section 52 is incontact with the outer wall of the peripheral section 14 of the elasticvalve body 3 in the state in which the elastic valve body 3 is held bythe holding section 48 so that the maximum inner diameter X3 of theinner wall section 52 and the maximum outer diameter X1 of the elasticvalve body 3 become equal as illustrated in FIG. 8B, it is preferable toconfigure the maximum inner diameter X3 of the inner wall section 52 tobe larger than the maximum outer diameter X1 of the elastic valve body 3in the state in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holdingsection 48.

As above, the gap 55 in the housing space 51 is preferably provided onthe outer side in the radial direction A with respect to the peripheralsection 14 as illustrated in FIG. 8A, but more preferably, is providedalso on the outer side in the thickness direction B with respect to theperipheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 in addition to theabove-described position from a point of view of suppressing the slackof the central section 13 on the bottom face 11 side.

It is because a part of the elastic valve body 3 is pushed from theposition of the constricted section 12 to the peripheral section 14 sidewhen the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48, and thepart pushed to the peripheral section 14 side may influence on anincrease in thickness of the peripheral section 14 in the thicknessdirection B as well as an increase in outer diameter of the peripheralsection 14 in the radial direction A. Accordingly, the elastic valvebody3 is preferably configured such that, a length T1 of the peripheralsection 14 in the thickness direction B in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is not held by the holding section 48 is shorterthan a length T2 (length in the thickness direction B which issandwiched between the top-face-side coupling section 53 of the top facecap 7 indicated by a solid line and the bottom-face-side couplingsection 54 of the bottom face cap 8 indicated by a broken line in FIGS.10A and 10B) of the housing space 51 in the thickness direction B in thestate in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section48 as illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B, for example.

Here, the “length of the peripheral section in the thickness directionin the state in which the elastic valve body is not held by the holdingsection” means an extending length of the peripheral section in thethickness direction in the state in which the elastic valve body is notheld by the holding section. As illustrated in FIG. 10A, theabove-described length indicates an extending length of the peripheralsection in the thickness direction B which is sandwiched between theperipheral edge flat part 21 of the peripheral section top face region17 and the peripheral edge flat part 31 of the peripheral section bottomface region 27 in the state in which the elastic valve body 3 is notheld by the holding section 48 in the present embodiment .

In addition, the “length of the housing space in the thickness directionin the state in which the elastic valve body is held by the holdingsection” means a space width of the housing space in the thicknessdirection in the state in which the elastic valve body is held by theholding section. As illustrated in FIG. 10A, the above-described lengthindicates a space width of the housing space in the thickness directionB which is sandwiched between the top-face-side coupling section 53 andthe bottom-face-side coupling section 54 in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 in the presentembodiment. More specifically, the above-described length indicates aspace width of the housing space in the thickness direction B that isdefined by a point of the top-face-side coupling section 53 positionedclosest to the side of the reverse direction D of the insertiondirection C of the male connector 100 and a point of thebottom-face-side coupling section 54 positioned closest to the side ofthe insertion direction C.

When the above-described relationship of T1<T2 is provided, thethickness of the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 canbe increased in the thickness direction B when the state illustrated inFIG. 10A is changed to the state of FIG. 10B in which the elastic valvebody 3 is held and compressed by the holding section 48. In other words,it is possible to set a length T3 (refer to FIG. 10B) of the peripheralsection 14 in the thickness direction B in the state in which theelastic valve body 3 is held by the holding section 48 to be longer thanthe length T1 thereof in the state in which the elastic valve body 3 isnot held by the holding section 48.

It may be configured such that the thickness of the peripheral section14 of the elastic valve body 3 can be increased in the thicknessdirection B when the elastic valve body 3 is changed from the state ofnot being held by the holding section 48 (for example, the stateillustrated in FIG. 10A) to the state of being held by the holdingsection 48 (for example, the state illustrated in FIG. 10B), and it maybe configured such that the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valvebody 3 is in contact with the entire region of the top-face-sidecoupling section 53 and/or the entire region of the bottom-face-sidecoupling section 54 in a state in which the elastic valve body 3 is heldby the holding section 48.

However, it is preferable to provide the configuration in which the gapis still provided between the peripheral section 14 and thetop-face-side coupling section 53 and/or the bottom-face-side couplingsection 54 in the state in which the elastic valve body 3 is held by theholding section 48 as illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B . In this manner,the peripheral section 14 of the elastic valve body 3 is prevented fromreceiving the reaction force by the top-face-side coupling section 53and/or the bottom-face-side coupling section 54, and the slack is hardlyformed on the central section 13 on the bottom face 11 side.

Further, it is possible to employ an elastic valve body 300 asillustrated in FIG. 11 instead of the elastic valve body 3 according tothe present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the elastic valvebody 300 is configured such that the side wall section 22 in theperipheral section top face region 17 has an inner diameter in theradial direction A gradually decreasing as approaching the bottom face11 side in the thickness direction B, which is perpendicular to theperipheral edge flat part 21 of the peripheral section top face region17 (the insertion direction C of the male connector in the state ofbeing fixed inside the connector 1), and further a side wall section 320of the peripheral section bottom face region 27 has an inner diameter inthe radial direction A gradually decreasing as approaching the top face10 side in the thickness direction B which is perpendicular to theperipheral edge flat part 31 of the peripheral section bottom faceregion 27 (the reverse direction D of the insertion direction C of themale connector in the state of being fixed inside the connector 1). Whenthe above-described elastic valve body 300 is employed, the engagingprojection 41 of the top face cap 7 is guided by the side wall section22 so as to press the side wall section 19 inward in the radialdirection A at the time of assembling the elastic valve body 300, thetop face cap 7, and the bottom face cap 8, and thus, a face, on theinsertion port 4 side, of the engaging projection 41 of the top face cap7 and the side wall section 19 of the elastic valve body 300 are broughtinto intimate contact with each other. In addition, the engagingprojection 45 of the bottom face cap 8 is guided by the side wallsection 320 so as to press the side wall section 30 inward in the radialdirection A, and thus, a face, on the insertion port 4 side, of theengaging projection 45 of the bottom face cap 8 and the side wallsection 30 of the elastic valve body 3 are brought into intimate contactwith each other (refer to FIG. 6 and the like).

When each face, on the insertion port 4 side, of the engagingprojections 41 and 45 is brought into intimate contact with an outerwall of the elastic valve body 300 in this manner, it is possible tocause a part of the elastic valve body 300, which is pushed from theposition of the constricted section 12, to be easily moved to theperipheral section 14 side, which is on the outer side in the radialdirection A, at the time of compressing the elastic valve body 300 usingthe holding section 48, and as a result, it is possible to furthersuppress the slack, on the bottom face 11 side, of the central section13 of the elastic valve body 300.

In addition, the inner wall section 52, the top-face-side holdingsection 49, and the top-face-side coupling section 53 form a part of theinner wall of the top face cap 7, and the bottom-face-side holdingsection 50 and the bottom-face-side coupling section 54 form a part ofthe outer wall of the bottom face cap 8 in the present embodiment, butthe present invention is not limited to the configuration of the presentembodiment in which the housing space 51 is defined only by two membersof the top face cap 7 and the bottom face cap 8, and, for example, theinner wall section 52 may be configured using the bottom face cap 8 oranother member . In addition, the inner wall section 52, thetop-face-side holding section 49, the bottom-face-side holding section50, the top-face-side coupling section 53, and the bottom-face-sidecoupling section 54 may be configured by combining three or moremembers, for example.

[Connector 1 in State in which Male Connector 100 is Inserted]

The connector 1 in the state in which the male connector 100 is notinserted has been mainly described hereinabove. Hereinbelow, adescription will be given regarding each member of the connector 1 atthe time of inserting the male connector insert.

FIG. 12 illustrates the state in which the male connector 100 isinserted into the connector 1. Although FIG. 12 illustrates aconfiguration of employing the above-described holder 60 instead of theholder 6, the holder 6 maybe employed. The same configuration of theconnector 1 described above is applied regarding the elastic valve body3, the top face cap 7, and the bottom face cap 8.

When the male connector 100 is inserted into the connector 1, the tip101 of the male connector 100 is elastically deformed so as to push theelastic valve body 3 inside the connector 1, and reaches the inside orthe vicinity of the liquid flow path 64 in the holder main body 61through the penetrating slit 9.

The elastic valve body 3 is elastically deformed by insertion of themale connector 100, enters a portion between the inner wall of thebottom face cap 8 and the outer wall of the male connector 100, and isturned into the state of being in intimate contact with the outersurface of the male connector 100. Accordingly, the leakage of theliquid from the connector 1 to the outside is suppressed.

The tip 101 of the male connector 100 abuts against a positioningsection 65 formed on an upper face of the holder main body 61 in thestate of causing the elastic valve body 3 to be sandwiched therebetween,and is positioned in the insertion direction C of the male connector100. Although the state is formed in which the elastic valve body 3 issandwiched between the outer surface of the male connector 100 and theinner wall of the bottom face cap 8, the penetrating slit 9 is providedin the elastic valve body 3, and thus, the liquid flow path inside themale connector 100 is turned into the state of communicating with theliquid flow path 64 through the slit 9.

[Infusion Set 80 Provided with Connector 1]

Finally, a description will be given regarding an infusion set 80provided with the connector 1 as an embodiment of the present inventionwith reference to FIG. 13. Herein, the description will be givenregarding the infusion set 80 provided with the connector 1 whichemploys the above-described holder 60, but a shape of the holder can besuitably changed according to a use application or the like of theinfusion set, and it is also possible to configure an infusion setprovided with a connector that includes the holder 6 or the holder 600described above.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the infusion set 80 is provided with a bottleneedle 81 which is inserted into an infusion bag housing a liquid, afirst tube 82 which is connected to a base of the bottle needle 81 andforms a liquid flow path, a drip infusion cylinder 83 which is connectedto the first tube 82 on the liquid flow path downstream side, a secondtube 84 which is connected to the drip infusion cylinder 83 and forms aliquid flow path of a liquid to be discharged from the drip infusioncylinder 83, a roller clamp 85 which is attached to an outer peripheralface of the second tube 84 and can adjust the flow amount of a liquidpassing through the second tube 84, the connector 1 provided with theholder 60 including a first tube connection port 62, which is connectedto an end of the second tube 84 positioned on the liquid flow pathdownstream side than an installation position of the roller clamp 85, athird tube 86 which is connected to the second tube connection port 63of the connector 1 and forms the liquid flow path, and a lock connector87 which is connected to a downstream end of the liquid flow path of thethird tube 86.

The infusion set 80 is configured such that the third tube 86 connectsthe connector 1 and the lock connector 87, but may be configured suchthat another connector 1 is added between the connector 1 and the lockconnector 87, and a tube for connection is also added. In addition, theroller clamp 85 can also be increased in number or arranged at adifferent position, constituent elements of the infusion set 80 andpositions of the constituent elements can be suitably changed andcombined by a person in the related art according to a use applicationof a user, and are not limited to the configuration of the infusion set80.

In addition, it is preferable to connect the first to third tubes 82, 84and 86 and the respective constituent elements connected to these tubesusing the lock connector.

The infusion set 80 is provided with the connector 1, and thus, cansupply a liquid, different from the liquid supplied form the infusionbag to which the bottle needle 81 is connected, to an infusion linethrough the connector 1, and it is unnecessary to provide differentinfusion lines for each liquid that needs to be supplied inside a body.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration specified bythe above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be madewithin a scope not departing from a gist of the invention to bedescribed in the claims.

The “top face” of the elastic valve body 3 used herein means a facewhich has at least a part being exposed to the outside in the state inwhich the elastic valve body 3 is assembled inside the connector 1, andthe “top face cap” means the cap which is in contact with the “top face”of the elastic valve body 3. In the same manner, the “bottom face cap”means the cap which is in contact with the bottom face of the elasticvalve body 3.

The present invention relates to a connector and an infusion set, andparticularly to a connector that is capable of connecting thereto a maleconnector such as various medical devices and an infusion set providedwith the connector.

REFERENCE NUMERAL LIST

-   1, 110, 120, 130 connector-   2 housing-   3, 300 elastic valve body-   4 insertion port-   5 cap-   6, 60, 600 holder-   7, 700 top face cap-   8 bottom face cap-   9 slit-   10 top face-   11 bottom face-   12 constricted section-   13 central section-   14 peripheral section-   15 central top face region-   16 constricted section top face region-   17 peripheral section top face region-   18 central flat face of central top face region-   19 side wall section of central top face region-   20 curved face of central top face region-   21 peripheral edge flat part of peripheral section top face region-   22 side wall section of peripheral section top face region-   23 top face annular groove-   24 groove bottom of top face annular groove-   25 central section bottom face region-   26 constricted section bottom face region-   27 peripheral section bottom face region-   28 central flat face of central section bottom face region-   29 central projection of central section bottom face region-   30 side wall section of central section bottom face region-   31 peripheral edge flat part of peripheral section bottom face    region-   32, 320 side wall section of peripheral section bottom face region-   33 bottom face annular groove-   34 groove bottom of bottom face annular groove-   35 side wall section-   36 hollow barrel of top face cap-   37 flange of top face cap-   38 extending section-   39 edge-   40 screw thread-   41 engaging projection of top face cap-   42 inner wall-   43 hollow barrel of bottom face cap-   44 flange of bottom face cap-   45 engaging projection of bottom face cap-   46 outer cylindrical section-   47 male luer section-   48 holding section-   49 top-face-side holding section-   50 bottom-face-side holding section-   51 housing space-   52, 520 inner wall section-   53 top-face-side coupling section-   54 bottom-face-side coupling section-   55 gap-   61 holder main body-   62 upstream port-   63 downstream port-   64 liquid flow path-   65 positioning section-   70 hollow section-   71 hollow section of holder-   80 infusion set-   81 bottle needle-   82 first tube-   83 drip infusion cylinder-   84 second tube-   85 roller clamp-   86 third tube-   87 lock connector-   100 male connector-   101 tip-   200 connector-   202 housing-   203 elastic valve body-   204 insertion port-   207 top face cap-   208 bottom face cap-   211 bottom face-   212 constricted section-   213 central section-   214 peripheral section-   245 engaging projection of bottom face cap-   248 holding section-   251 housing space-   601 cock-   602 holder main body-   603 upstream port-   604 downstream port-   605 branch port-   606 liquid flow path-   A radial direction of elastic valve body-   B thickness direction of elastic valve body-   C male connector insertion direction-   D reverse direction of male connector insertion direction-   E circumferential direction of elastic valve body-   L length of curved face of elliptical top face flat part in    major-axis direction-   P point of top-face-side holding section which is positioned on    outermost side in radial direction-   Q point of bottom-face-side holding section which is positioned on    outermost side in radial direction-   T1 length of peripheral section in thickness direction in state in    which elastic valve body is not held by holding section-   T2 length of housing space in thickness direction in state in which    elastic valve body is held by holding section-   T3 length of peripheral section in thickness direction in state in    which elastic valve body is held by holding section-   V1 volume of peripheral section in state in which elastic valve body    is held by holding section-   V2 volume of peripheral section in state in which elastic valve body    is not held by holding section-   V3 volume of housing space in state in which elastic valve body is    held by holding section-   X1 maximum outer diameter of elastic valve body in state in which    elastic valve body is held by holding section-   X2 maximum outer diameter of elastic valve body in state in which    elastic valve body is not held by holding section-   X3 maximum inner diameter of inner wall section

1. A connector comprising: an elastic valve body that includes a topface on which a slit is formed and a bottom face opposite the top face;and a housing that is in contact with the top face and the bottom faceof the elastic valve body and holds the elastic valve body, wherein,when the elastic valve body is viewed from a top face side, the housingsurrounds the slit, and the elastic valve body comprises a peripheralsection that is positioned outward of a portion of the elastic valvebody that is held by the housing, and wherein a side wall of theperipheral portion bulges outward in a radial direction of the elasticvalve body.
 2. The connector of claim 1, wherein: the elastic valve bodyfurther comprises a constricted section at which the housing holds theelastic valve body.
 3. The connector of claim 2, wherein: the housingcomprises a first engaging projection that projects downward andcontacts the top face of the elastic valve body at the constrictedsection, and a second engaging projection that projects upward andcontacts the bottom face of the elastic valve body at the constrictedsection, such that the first engaging projection and the second engagingprojection compress and hold the constricted section of the elasticvalve body, so as to cause the side wall of the peripheral portion tobulge outward in the radial direction of the elastic valve body.
 4. Theconnector of claim 3, wherein: the housing comprises an inner wallsection that surrounds the peripheral section of the elastic valve body,and due to bulging of the elastic valve body caused by compression ofthe constricted section by the first engaging projection and the secondengaging projection, a thickness of the peripheral section of theelastic valve body in a radial direction along the constricted sectionis greater than a thickness of the peripheral section of the elasticvalve body in a radial direction along a top face side of the peripheralsection and greater than a thickness of the peripheral section of theelastic valve body in a radial direction along a bottom face side of theperipheral section, such that a gap is located between the top face sideof the peripheral section and the inner wall section, and a gap isformed between the bottom face side of the peripheral section and theinner wall section.
 5. The connector according to claim 4, wherein, inthe radial direction along the constricted section, the peripheralsection and the inner wall section are in contact with each other. 6.The connector according to claim 4, wherein an inner diameter of theinner wall section is at a maximum at a position radially outward of theconstricted section.
 7. The connector according to claim 6, wherein theinner wall section has a curved shape projecting outward in the radialdirection such that the inner diameter is at a maximum at the positionradially outward of the constricted section.
 8. The connector accordingto claim 4, wherein: the peripheral section is housed in a housing spacethat is defined by the inner wall section, the first engagingprojection, the second engaging projection, a top-face-side couplingsection that connects an end of the inner wall section and the firstengaging projection, and a bottom-face-side coupling section thatconnects another end of the inner wall section and the second engagingprojection, and, a gap is located between the peripheral section and (i)the top-face-side coupling section, and/or (ii) the bottom-face-sidecoupling section.
 9. The connector according to claim 5, wherein: theperipheral section is housed in a housing space that is defined by theinner wall section, the first engaging projection, the second engagingprojection, a top-face-side coupling section that connects an end of theinner wall section and the first engaging projection, and abottom-face-side coupling section that connects another end of the innerwall section and the second engaging projection, and a gap is locatedbetween the peripheral section and (i) the top-face-side couplingsection, and/or (ii) the bottom-face-side coupling section.
 10. Theconnector according to claim 4, wherein: the peripheral section ishoused in a housing space that is defined by the inner wall section, thefirst engaging projection, the second engaging projection, atop-face-side coupling section that connects an end of the inner wallsection and the first engaging projection, and a bottom-face-sidecoupling section that connects another end of the inner wall section andthe second engaging projection, and the peripheral section is in contactwith (i) the top-face-side coupling section, and/or (ii) thebottom-face-side coupling section.
 11. The connector according to claim5, wherein: the peripheral section is housed in a housing space that isdefined by the inner wall section, the first engaging projection, thesecond engaging projection, a top-face-side coupling section thatconnects an end of the inner wall section and the first engagingprojection, and a bottom-face-side coupling section that connectsanother end of the inner wall section and the second engagingprojection, and the peripheral section is in contact with (i) thetop-face-side coupling section, and/or (ii) the bottom-face-sidecoupling section.
 12. The connector according to claim 1, wherein theelastic valve body has a substantially circular outer shape.
 13. Aninfusion set comprising the connector according to claim 1.